


"I Believe In You"

by orphan_account



Series: CHALLENGE: One Hundred Ways to Say "I Love You" [2]
Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 01:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4502550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zendaya comes home to her husband after he’s had a difficult day at work. </p>
<p>My second fic (of one hundred) for the One Hundred Ways to Say “I Love You” Challenge. This is prompt #93.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"I Believe In You"

**Author's Note:**

> This is fiction, not reality.

The light above the sink shined dimly in the otherwise dark apartment as Zendaya let herself in.  After a twelve hour day in the recording booth, she was absolutely exhausted.  She slipped her keys into her purse and laid it on the counter before flipping off the light and heading towards the bedroom.  Knowing that Val had probably come home after the show, taken a shower, and gone straight to sleep, she was careful to be quiet as she walked down the hallway.

A slim line of light shined from beneath the closed bathroom door, catching her attention.  She slowly pushed it open and looked inside.  Val sat in the whirlpool tub, staring at the wall opposite him as the jets massaged his back.  Eerily, his eyes were empty of all emotion.  Even odder was the fact that he hadn’t noticed her come into the room. 

“Val?” she said quietly.  He blinked and slowly turned his head.  Meeting her gaze, his eyes warmed a bit. 

“Hey, baby,” he murmured.  “How was your day?”

“It was good,” she said, momentarily forgetting how tired she was.  “Are you…are you alright?”

He swallowed hard.  “I…” His voice broke and he paused.  “I’m…just discouraged, I guess.”  She felt her concern rise and instantly walked over to the side of the tub, kneeling down next to him. 

“Why, baby?  What’s going on?”

“We were in the bottom two tonight.”

Zendaya sighed.  “Val, you know that that’s not always an accurate representation of the votes.”

“No, Tom didn’t do his usual spiel.  It really was.”  He sighed, seeming to deflate right in front of her.  “I don’t want to let the fans down or Sam down.  I don’t want to be the reason that she doesn’t make it to the finale or win the competition.  I don’t want to hold her back.”

“Baby,” she whispered.  She reached out and cupped his face with her hand, lightly brushing her thumb along his cheekbone.    

“I don’t know what else to do, Z.  Maybe I’m just…getting too old for all of this.”

She sighed before reaching over to shut off the tub’s jets.  In the sudden silence, she carefully cupped his face in her hands.  She gently pressed her forehead to his, trying to offer some semblance of intimacy and comfort.  As close as she was to him, she couldn’t help but notice that there were still traces of makeup caked onto his skin. 

Without saying a word, Zendaya leaned over to grab soap and a wash cloth.  Taking her time, she lathered the soap into suds before setting to work on his face.  She carefully scrubbed down his forehead, over his closed eyes and nose, and along his cheekbones, washing away all surface evidence that he had been at the show at all.  When she reached his mouth, she traced his lips with her thumb before pressing a light kiss to them. 

“ _Dayachka…_ ” he murmured.  

He reached for her as she pulled away, trying to bring her mouth back to his, but she held firm.  Setting to work on his chin and jawbone, Zendaya made sure that not a single section of skin was missed. 

Moving onto his neck, she said, “I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to answer with a simple yes or no, alright?”  She waited for him to nod before questioning, “Do you still enjoy it?”

“Yes, but –

“That’s all that I wanted,” she interrupted.  She lightly ran the cloth down his throat.  The water’s movement was the only sound in the room as she tried to collect her thoughts.  She knew that she had to handle this as delicately as possible.

“You know that I’m not the show’s biggest fan,” she finally said.  She kept her gaze on the cloth as she put more soap on it before starting to lightly scrub his chest.  “But I’ve always admired what you’re able to accomplish on it.  You always make an impact on your partner, more often than not building them up in ways that they hadn’t felt capable of before.  You believe in them and, as a result, they believe in themselves.”

Looking up, her eyes locked on his.  “You make a difference.”  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed again and she noticed that his eyes were damp. 

“Your fans, your _true_ fans, will support you no matter what.  Win or lose, they love you because of who you are and what you stand for, not how many mirror balls you have to your name.  And your partners automatically gain something from this experience just by sharing it with you.” 

“The real problem here isn’t that they stop believing in you; it’s that you stop believing in yourself.  You put so much pressure on yourself, Val.  You hold yourself to such impossibly high standards and then are disappointed when you don’t meet them.  And what you perceive to be a failure ends up making you question yourself and your ability.”

“But _I_ believe in you, baby,” she stated quietly.  “I always have, because I can see what you can’t…and that’s a fantastic man, striving towards his goals, pushing himself and those around him to be the best that they can be.  You once said that I inspired you, but the truth is that you inspire _me._ ” 

“You make a difference,” she repeated.  “That being said, I’ll always stand behind your decisions.  If you want to leave after this season, I’ll support you.  But if you want to stay…then you should stay.”  She placed the wash cloth on the lip of the tub and carefully cradled his face in her hands.  “I know you feel like you’re letting them down whenever you’re put in jeopardy or eliminated, but it doesn’t matter how long your journey lasts.  What matters is the impact that you leave on your partner once the season is over.  That’s what really counts.”


End file.
